Traditional telephony can be difficult or impossible for persons who are who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-impaired (D-HOH-SI). Communication by telephone requires each party to a telephone call to be able to hear and/or speak to the other party on the call with sufficient fidelity to communicate. For hearing or speech impaired persons, audio communication with sufficient fidelity is difficult or impossible, making telephone communication difficult or impossible.
Early approaches to facilitating telecommunications for D-HOH-SI persons included text-based telecommunications relay service (TRS). Text-based TRS services allow a D-HOH-SI person to communicate with other people over an existing telecommunications network using devices capable of transmitting and receiving text characters over the telecommunications network. Such devices include the telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) and the teletypewriter (TTY). Text-based TRS services were well-suited to the bandwidth limitations of subscriber lines of the time. The bandwidth limitations of subscriber lines were also a limiting factor in the widespread use of video telephony.
The availability of affordable, high-speed packet-switched communications has led to the growth in the use of Video Relay Service (VRS) communication by D-HOH-SI persons. VRS is a form of TRS that enables persons with hearing disabilities who use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with voice telephone users through video equipment, rather than through typed text. Video equipment links the VRS user with a TRS operator (called a communications assistant, or “CA”) so that the VRS user and the CA can see and communicate with each other in signed conversation. Because the conversation between the VRS user and the CA flows much more quickly than with a text-based TRS call, VRS has become an enormously popular form of TRS.
VRS, like other forms of TRS, allows persons who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or speech impaired to communicate through the telephone system with hearing persons. The VRS caller, using a television or a computer with a video camera device and a broadband (high speed) Internet connection, contacts a VRS CA, who is a qualified sign language interpreter (SLI). The VRS caller and the VRS CA communicate with each other in sign language through a video link. The VRS CA then places a telephone call to the hearing party the VRS caller wishes to call. The VRS CA relays the conversation back and forth between the parties: in sign language with the VRS caller, and by voice with the hearing party. No typing or text is involved. A voice telephone user can also initiate a VRS call by calling a VRS center, usually through a toll-free number.
The VRS CA can be reached through the VRS provider's Internet site, or through video equipment attached to a television. VRS is different from some of the other forms of TRS in two important ways: the conversation between the VRS caller and the CA is made through a video link and sign language, rather than typed text; and VRS service relies on the Internet, rather than the telephone system, for the connection between the VRS user and the CA.
In the United States, VRS service is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Currently, around ten providers offer VRS service. Like all TRS calls, VRS is free to the subscriber. VRS providers are compensated for their costs from the Interstate TRS Fund, which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oversees. VRS providers must meet various requirements established by the FCC. VRS is a relatively new service and, unlike some other forms of TRS, it is not mandatory. However, corrections facilities (such as a prison, penitentiary, juvenile detention center, and the like) are increasingly being required to provide VRS service to their inmates, if not by law or regulation, then by lawsuits.
Video remote interpreting (VRI) is a video-telecommunication service that uses devices such as web cameras or videophones to provide sign language or spoken language interpreting services. This is done through a remote or offsite interpreter in order to communicate with persons with whom there is a communication barrier. VRI is similar to VRS in that a sign language interpreter is used to mediate a conversation between a hearing party and a D-HOH-SI party. VRI differs from VRS in several ways. For example, VRS is a telecommunications service where the parties to the conversation are each located in different places, as the calling parties are with regular person-to-person telephone service. With VRI, the parties to the conversation are usually not geographically remote but are instead in the same room as each other. However, the parties cannot communicate because one party is D-HOH-SI and the other party cannot communicate via sign language.
Another difference between VRI and VRS is that VRI is a contracted service used by organizations to help them communicate with Limited English Proficient or Deaf/Hard of Hearing customers. VRS is principally a service provided to the deaf community, whereby a deaf person can contact the service, and use the interpreter to contact a third-party.
A typical application of VRI service at a corrections institution is in the infirmary, where a D-HOH-SI inmate is in an examination room with a health care provider who does not know sign language. VRI service enables the health care provider to communicate with the D-HOH-SI inmate via a remote SLI. VRI is a type of telecommunications relay service (TRS) that is not regulated by the FCC. VRI providers are not compensated for the costs of providing VRI service through the TRS fund the way VRS providers are compensated for providing VRS service. The corrections institution typically enters into a private contract with a VRI provider to provide VRI service at a particular rate (e.g., $3/minute), and the costs are passed on to the corrections facility.
Video Visitation (VV) is the use of videoconferencing and/or analog CCTV systems and software to allow inmates and visitors to visit at a distance as opposed to face-to-face. VV allows people with a computer, internet, webcam, and credit card to communicate with inmates at corrections facilities that support it. Video visitation is a term used for technology that allows the inmate and visitor to communicate via analog or digital videoconferencing equipment. Under the old method of face-to-face visitation, inmates were transferred from their housing area to the visitation area, while visitors often had to walk through the facility. With video visitation, inmates use a video visitation station located in their cell or cell block, while visitors can use a corresponding station elsewhere in the corrections facility or use computers from their homes or offices. VV reduces the amount of manpower needed to conduct visits by reducing the movement of inmates and reducing inmate movement also reduces contraband at the facility. Some prisons have ended all in-person visitations, leaving video visitations as the only option for communication with inmates.
Video Relay Service (VRS), Video Remote Interpreting (VRI), and Video Visitation (VV) are just a few examples of video-enabled call destination types provided by corrections facilities to their D-HOH-SI inmates. The various call destination types can be billed at different rates depending upon the contract a correction facility has with a particular provider and whether government subsidies are available. What is needed is a way to determine a call destination type based on the number dialed by the inmate. Accurately determining a call destination type based on the number dialed by the inmate enables a corrections facility to accurately charge its inmates for use of the services provided and offset at least some of the cost of installing and maintaining the equipment.